Regulation of mitochondrion-associated cytosolic ribosomes by mammalian mitochondrial ribonuclease T2 (RNASET2)

Mitochondrial proteins are encoded in both mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. The expression levels of these two pools of mitochondrial genes are co-regulated and synchronized. Import and assembly of the nucleus-encoded oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) subunits affect protein synthesis in the mitochondrial matrix by engaging the mitochondrial ribosomes. How the ribosomes at the outside of mitochondria are regulated by mitochondria, however, remains mostly unexplored. Here, using an array of biochemical assays and genetic knockdown and overexpression in HEK293 or mouse cells, we show that cytosolic rRNAs that are associated with the mitochondrial outer membrane have very different decay patterns from those of both endoplasmic reticulum–associated and –nonassociated cytosolic rRNAs. Mitochondrial intermembrane space RNase T2 (RNASET2), which has been previously shown to degrade mitochondrial RNAs, is also responsible for selective degradation of the cytosolic rRNAs on the outer membrane. We noted that the degradation activity also has a positive effect on nuclear transcription of rRNAs, suggesting a compensatory feedback mechanism, and affects protein translations in and out of mitochondria. These findings establish a mechanism for the co-regulation of gene expression programs inside and outside of mitochondria in mammalian cells.